Yahoo Inc Chairman Terry Semel stepped down as chief executive in a surprise move, ending his increasingly ineffectual pursuit of online search leader Google Inc.
The Sunnyvale, California-based company on Monday appointed co-founder Jerry Yang as its new CEO and named Susan Decker as its president.
Decker, who had been touted as Semel’s heir apparent, was recently promoted from Yahoo’s chief financial officer to oversee the company’s advertising operations.
Semel, 64, will remain chairman in a non-executive role after spending the past six years running the company.
Monday’s shake-up unfolded less than a week after Semel faced off with shareholders disillusioned with a nearly 30 per cent drop in Yahoo’s stock price during the past 18 months as the company’s financial growth fell further behind Google’s torrid pace.
“The company is in good hands. I felt like it was time for me to move more into a coach’s role than a player’s role,” Semel said in an interview Monday.
Wall Street was clearly ready for a change. Yahoo shares gained 81 cents finish at $28.12 Monday, then surged $1.33, or 4.7 per cent, in extended trading.
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